Xero

What is with the uneven relationship between AA and CX FF'ers?

CX flyers get AA miles on all flights except O. For AA'ers, we have to fly at least on H on CX to earn anything. Yet, for an H fare on AA, a CX'er can upgrade with their mlles, which AA'ers cannot do on CX. AA really needs to fix this discrepancy.

brenc3

I agree, it's one of the more egregious imbalances within OW. Even throwing us a bone on cheaper fares like 50% mileage earning would be better than the zero we get now. For example, JL has a much more equitable earning structure - not everything is 100%, but many of the lower fares are 70%. The JL website isn't always transparent about what fares are available or what you are booking into (especially for domestic) but I can't think of the last time a JL ticket got me 0 AAdvantage miles.

For US-Asia tickets, an H fare can usually price out reasonably on CX, and reasonably priced AA codeshares are not hard to find. But AA flyers really get shafted flying within Asia. H fares are often exorbitant compared to the cheapest available. If a *A carrier flies the same route and you maintain a UA account, you might be better off at least getting something for your flying.

I flew OKA-HKG r/t a few weeks back - US$700 for an L fare on a 2hr flight, and that's about the cheapest you'll find on KA/CX. I'm looking at TPE-PVG in Dec. CX is similarly priced to the nonstops, but of course, an H fare is 2-3x more. CX used to own a good chunk of the the Taiwan-Mainland market, but now that there's non-stop service, it's hard to justify spending twice as long in the air for no miles.

One difference I do notice is that the award structure is different on both airlines. JFK-HKG-SIN award will set you back 130k in F with Asia Miles each way, and only 67.5k with AAdvantage. Not every award shows such disparity, and as you mentioned, you can upgrade AA flights with CX miles but no chance of vice versa. But I'd love to know if AA has some other justification for why we get so little from CX.

FWAAA

AA doesn't determine how many AAdvantage miles CX buys and awards members of AAdvantage who buy a CX ticket. CX does, and CX is stingy.

Remember when JAL and BA decided not to award elite status bonus miles on JAL and BA coded/metal flights? Similar problem.

AA does determine how many AAdvantage miles AA awards buyers of AA codeshares on CX metal. If you want to earn full miles on all published fares, AA codeshares are the way to go.

gemac

AA can only fix this discrepancy by changing what CX members earn on AA flights to match what AA members earn on CX. If that is what you had in mind, e-mail Maya Liebman your rationale, perhaps she will agree with you.

If you want to change what AA members earn on CX flights, AA can't fix that discrepancy. CX would have to do that.

worldwidedreamer

Dergulation is arriving in Asia 30 years later than in the US. A 500 mile flight that in the US would cost $200 still routinely costs $400 on many segments. From the perspective of an airline, a FFM is an accrued discount that becomes a sort of liability which can reduce current period cash revenue if/when redeemed. CX leveraged its strong negotiating power when OW was created years ago (at the time it was one of very few world class global operators in Asia) to achieve the ffp tht best suited their competitive position.